Alien at the Movies

Power Ballad

This is director John Carney’s (“Once” & “Sing Street”) & Paul Rudd’s version of The Wedding Singer. Two singer/songwriters paths are about to be crossed. Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is struggling to make a living singing with his band at wedding receptions. He came to Ireland with his former band to play, married an Irish girl, & stayed. Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) is a washed up former boy band member trying to make it as a solo act. They meet at a wedding reception, chill together afterwards, get a little high & drunk, and have a jam session. They part friends. Months later, Danny makes it big with one of the jam songs… a song that Rick wrote. When Rick tries to tell everyone that this is his multi-million dollar song, no one believes him. This musical comedy drama is about Rick’s quest for recognition. Who is right in this situation? Does Rick want revenge? What is the significance of this song? This is perhaps Rudd’s finest performance.

Alien gives it 3 “The Song I️ Wrote (Without You)” stars out of 4.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu

Director/writer Jon Favreau has taken us back to that galaxy far far away. This one is for those Star Wars & Mandalorian fans eager to experience more space adventures on the big screen. Set in the time after the collapse of the Empire on the outer edges of the galaxy, we find Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin aka Mando (Pedro Pascal) taking on jobs hunting down warlords from the Galactic Enpire. Mando’s side kick/apprentice is a childlike creature named Grogu (baby Yoda). However, Mando is thrown a curve when he is tasked with rescuing crime-lord Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta. Mando refuses at first to work with gangsters like the Hutts, but they have information connected his next mission. Sigourney Weaver has been added to the cast as a New Republic colonel & leader. Look for a couple of cameos & some familiar characters. This is a fun action-packed entertaining thrill ride. There are many nods to the franchise. Can Mando stick to the strict Mandalorian code of honor? Or will there be trouble with the Hutts? I️ was surprised to see a suit performer & a stunt performer  listed for Mando besides Pascal.

Alien gives it 3 “new Razor Crest” stars out of 4.

In The Grey

It’s “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Mission Impossible” in Guy Ritchie’s latest action thriller. Somewhere between moral & amoral, there is a covert operations team that operates in the grey. When ruthless despot Manny Salazar cheats banking executive Bobby Sheen (Rosamund Pike) out of $1 billion, Sheen hires Rachel Wild (Eiza González) to recover the debt. Wild is a lawyer with an elaborate & complex scheme to complete the job by forcing a face to face meeting between her & Salazar. To guarantee her success, she has put together an elite team of mercenaries/extraction specialists with include Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal) & Sid (Henry Cavill). This is an action packed, gun brazing, bomb exploding always one step ahead cat & mouse game. See the preparation plans laid out for you & the see how it plays out. González, Gyllenhaal, & Cavill are terrific & make a great team. Ritchie’s style drives the plot & action.

Alien gives it 3 “negotiating with a lawyer” stars out of 4.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

It’s 20 years later & where are the fabulous four of Runway Magazine fame? Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is still head of Runway Magazine, of course. She is basically the same but time & HR may have soften some of her edges. Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is still Miranda’s right hand man. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is once again the newbie back at Runaway due some unfortunate circumstance, but arrives just in time to save the day. Emily (Emily Blunt) now works for Dior. She was ambitious & could not advance at Runaway. This is the setup for this sequel where their relationships are rekindled & the power play in the cutthroat fashion industry continues. The sequel feels very familiar as it seems to be an homage to the original with its many catch phrases & subtle Easter eggs (remember those cerulean blue belts?). Although, it’s not absolutely necessary to see the original first, I️ did enjoy this script because I️ did. The original will always seem better because it was new & fresh at the time. It seems like with the popularity & success of the original, many fashion designers joined as cameos & most of big name actors were added in mostly minor roles.

Alien gives it 3 “friendly reunion” stars out of 4.

Neglected

It’s Detective Shaw’s (Josh Duhamel) last day at the Clinton Police Department in Mississippi after 20 years of service. He is given the day off but is suddenly called back to the station. A bloodied kid (Dylan Sprouse) has walked into the police station to report a murder & insists on only talking to Shaw. The kid confesses to kidnapping Shaw’s son & Shaw must visit 3 crimes scenes to uncover clues before the kid reveals the son's whereabouts. With the clock ticking, Shaw must solve this crime spree mystery in order to save his son. See if you can figure out this crime mystery & the motive before our hero does. It is an intense thrill ride. Can Shaw save his son? What is this kid’s motive? Will justice be served? Keep an eye out for one last twisted scene mid credits.

Alien gives it 2½ “hear no evil, speak no evil, & see no evil” stars out of 4.

Animal Farm

From Angel Studios, George Orwell’s allegorical novella depicting how farm animals rebelled against their human farmer & attempted to create an equal society is now on the big screen. This animated story is actually a critique of the Russian Revolution & Stalinism while using farm animals to illustrate how power corrupts The leaders of the revolt are two pigs, Napoleon representing Stalin & Snowball representing Trotsky. All is going well in the beginning as all of the farm animals… pigs, horses, cows, sheep, & chickens were working together with great success on the farm. Rules were established to prevent society at the farm from being run like the humans operated it. But slowly, Napoleon schemes to get rid of Snowball & changes the rules to create an elitist pig class. The studio has modernized the story to appeal to today’s audiences as well toned it down for the younger viewers. This interpretation is more kid friendly.

Alien gives it 2½ “LAUGHTER misread” stars out of 4.

The Sheep Detectives

Talking Sheep, Rams, & Lambs… oh my! 

Are you an animal lover? Do you like solving crime mysteries? Then, maybe you’ll get a kick out of this PG-rated film.

A shepherd, George (Hugh Jackman), reads murder mysteries to his flock of sheep every night. Then one morning, he is found dead outside of his trailer. His flock of sheep using their knowledge of this genre, set out to uncover the murderer & solve the case. This is a murder mystery with a twist. The sheep are CGI-ed & talking in this live-action mystery thriller comedy. The sheep have great personalities giving this a delightful “Murder Sheep Wrote” vibe to this “Wool Dunit?” mystery. Of course, we have a good cast of suspects & a bumbling cop leading the investigation. Are smarter than the sheep & can solve the crime before the big reveal?

Alien gives it 3 “they call stupid humans… sheep” stars out of 4.